Reduced oxygen levels and air pressure at higher elevations may limit insects’ ability to move upslope to escape a warming climate, with potential consequences for the essential services they provide, like pollination, according to a new review in the journal, Functional Ecology.

Under a warming climate, many species are shifting their ranges to higher elevations to remain in suitable temperature zones. However, conditions at higher elevations, such as thinner air and less oxygen, pose unique challenges to insects because of their size, life cycle and way of breathing.

To understand how moving to higher elevations could affect different insect species, researchers from the University of Montana reviewed research on the physiological effects of hypoxia (low oxygen levels) and hypobaria (low pressure) on insects.